Notice published under Article 19(3) of Council Regulation No 17 - Case 34.950 - Eco-Emballages (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2000-08-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: approximation of laws, environmental protection, packaging, waste disposal, waste management, waste recycling

C 227/6

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Official Journal of the European Communities

9.8.2000

Notice published under Article 19(3) of Council Regulation No 17 (1)

Case 34.950 (cid:151) Eco-Emballages

(2000/C 227/03)

(Text with EEA relevance)

I. NOTIFICATION

1. On 17 December 1993 Eco-Emballages SA, a firm located
in Levallois-Perret, France (hereinafter
referred to as
(cid:145)Eco-Emballages(cid:146)), notified a number of agreements with
a view to obtaining negative clearance or, failing this, an
exemption decision. Eco-Emballages organises on French
territory a system of selective collection and recovery of
household packaging that
the
French Packaging
requirements
Decree. The notification relates
agreements
governing the system’s operation.

is designed to meet

laid down by the

to the

7. Article 4 of the Decree stipulates that any producer or
importer whose products are marketed in packaging or, if
the producer or the importer cannot be identified, the
person first responsible for placing the products on the
market is required (cid:145)to contribute to or make provision for
the disposal of all of its packaging waste(cid:146) (hereinafter, the
includes any person covered by this
term (cid:145)producer(cid:146)
requirement).
It also stipulates that the producer may
either apply to a body or firm approved by the auth-
orities to carry out its disposal operations or recover the
packaging itself by establishing a deposit system or orga-
nising collection points specifically for that purpose.

2. The Commission

subsequently

received
It

additional
also received
information from Eco-Emballages.
information from a rival company (Adelphe SA, here-
inafter
it obtained
referred to as
information and explanations
from the Competition,
Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention Directorate-
General of the French Ministry for Economic, Financial
and Industrial Affairs.

(cid:145)Adelphe(cid:146)). Lastly,

3. No formal complaint has yet been lodged against the

notified system.

4. By letter received on 12 April 1999, Eco-Emballages
asked that the requested exemption decision be issued
with retroactive effect.

II. FRENCH PACKAGING DECREE

5. On 1 April 1992 Decree No 92-377 implementing with
regard to packaging waste Law No 75-633 of 15 July
1975 on waste disposal and recovery, as amended (here-
inafter referred to as (cid:145)the Decree(cid:146)), was adopted (2).

6. Article 1 of the Decree stipulates that it applies to all
packaging held by households. According to the defi-
nitions in Article 2, a (cid:145)producer(cid:146) means anyone who
packages products or has products packaged with a
view to placing them on the market and (cid:145)packaging(cid:146)
means any form of container or the like intended to
contain a product and to facilitate its transport or pres-
entation for sale.

(1) OJ 13, 21.2.1962, p. 204/62.
(2) Member States also have obligations in this matter arising from
94/62/EC on

European
packaging and packaging waste (OJ L 365, 31.6.1994, p. 10).

and Council Directive

Parliament

8. Article 6 of the Decree provides that bodies or firms may
obtain approval to carry out such operations from the
competent ministers (in the first instance, the Ministry of
the Environment). Approval is valid for a maximum of
six years. The body or firm in question should negotiate
agreements with producers and with waste collection/
recovery firms and local authorities. An application for
approval must be accompanied by specifications indi-
cating
financial
contribution required from producers to allow the body
or firm to supply packaging with zero or positive value
sorted by type of material. Likewise, the specifications
must indicate the method of calculating the payments
which the approved body or firm makes to ensure that
local authorities are reimbursed the extra costs which
they might incur in sorting waste.

the method

calculating

the

of

9. Under Article 8 of the Decree, the approved body or firm
is required each year to submit to certain authorities a
report and the results of
recovery and salvage
operations.

its

10. The Decree entered into force on 1 January 1993.

11. The Order of 23 July 1992 on the approval provided for
by the Decree set up an Advisory Approval Committee
comprising thirty-three members: five representatives of
central government, six of the local authorities, seven of
representing industries producing
trade organisations
packaged goods, five of trade organisations representing
the packaging and packaging-materials industries, two of
trade organisations representing the distributive sector,
trade organisations representing waste-disposal
two of
three of environmental
and material-recovery firms,

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protection associations, and three of consumer organi-
sations. The Committee
consulted among other
is
things on applications for approval and is informed of
the activity reports of approved bodies.

Eco-Emballages, the producer meets his obligation under
the Decree. Moreover,
it acquires the right to use the
(cid:145)green dot(cid:146)
logo and trademark, which it affixes to its
packaging to indicate membership.

III. ECO-EMBALLAGES AND ITS COLLECTION AND RECOVERY

SYSTEM FOR PACKAGING WASTE

12. Eco-Emballages is a private limited-liability company set
up in 1992. Its shareholders are the Compagnie pour le
financement d’Eco-Emballages (Ecopar), which is made up
of producers and their trade associations (70 % of the
capital),
i.e.
steel, aluminium, paperboard/paper, plastic and glass
(each with 4 % of
the capital), distributive firms and
their trade bodies and, as required by its articles of
association, its directors.

the five sectoral undertakings concerned,

17. Eco-Emballages does not

their

itself collect used household
packaging. This is done by the local authorities, either
on their own or with the help of a subcontractor, as part
refuse-collection activities. By concluding a
of
contract with Eco-Emballages,
they receive financial
the collection and sorting of
support
household packaging waste. Once
sorted, domestic
for
packaging is passed on to the take-back firm(s)
recovery. Eco-Emballages regularly receives reports from
the local authorities indicating that recovery has actually
taken place.

from it

for

13.

It was approved by the competent ministers to collect
packaging waste in respect of which producers or
importers of products consumed or used by households
have entered into a contract with it. The first approval
was issued on 12 November 1992, to run for six years
from 1 January 1993. It was renewed on 30 August 1996
for a further six years from 1 July 1996 and again on 11
June 1999 for six years from 1 January 1999.

18.

14. Eco-Emballages

sees

itself as an (cid:145)interface(cid:146) between

industry and local authorities.

15. The system it operates relies on several categories of

contract which can be summarised as follows:

(cid:151) the contract concerning use of the (cid:145)green dot(cid:146)

logo

and trademark,

(cid:151) (cid:145)producer(cid:146) contracts with producers which do not
wish to organise waste disposal themselves and who
join the Eco-Emballages system,

(cid:151) (cid:145)local authority(cid:146) contracts with individual munici-
palities or groupings of
them, which are required
under French law to dispose of household waste
and might
contract with
conclude
Eco-Emballages,

thus

a

(cid:151) contracts with (cid:145)sectoral undertakings(cid:146) or (cid:145)take-back
agreements(cid:146) with industrial
firms which undertake
these include
to process recovered raw materials;
(cid:145)operational take-back(cid:146) contracts between designated
take-back firms and local authorities, and

(cid:151) research and development contracts.

16. Eco-Emballages is financed out of contributions paid by
the producers which participate in the system. By joining

In 1997 it had a net turnover of FRF 565,6 million and,
after it drew on provisions to cover future costs, its total
operating income was FRF 1 463 million. In 1998 net
turnover was FR 504,5 million and total operating
income FRF 790,5 million. Its costs increased by 47 %
in 1998, mainly because of a renegotiation of price scales
with local authorities.
In 1997 1,8 million tonnes of
packaging was collected, of which some 1,3 million
tonnes was recycled and some 500 000 tonnes used for
energy recovery. In 1998 more than 2 million tonnes of
packaging was
end of 1997
Eco-Emballages was contractually bound to 9 664 muni-
(inter-
cipalities grouped into 281 local authorities
municipal syndicates),
there being more than 36 000
municipalities and more than 2 000 local authorities in
France. By the end of 1998 it was contractually bound to
533 local authorities representing 13 862 municipalities.
In 1997 the number of affiliated producers was 9 135, of
which more than 700 were outside France; in 1998 there
were 9 311.

recovered. By

the

19. According to Eco-Emballages, since 1996 (cid:145)the green dot
has been present on more than 90 % of products
consumed by households(cid:146) in France. Of the 4,6 million
tonnes of domestic packaging placed on the market in
France in 1997, 3,3 million tonnes came from members
of the Eco-Emballages system (3).

20. Eco-Emballages’ official recovery target

its
members’ household packaging by 2002. At present,
more than 60 % is collected and recycled.

is 75 % of

21. Apart from Eco-Emballages, there are a number of other
firms which also organise the recovery of specific types
of household packaging.

(3) The figures (for 1997) are as follows for the various materials
involved: 1,24 of the 2,3 million tonnes of glass, 0,81 of the 0,9
million tonnes of plastic, 0,89 of the 1,0 million tonnes of paper/
paperboard, and 0,36 of the 0,4 million tonnes of metal.

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and

22. These include Adelphe, which obtained approval on 5
February 1993 to collect
recycle packaging
produced in the wine and spirits sector. There used to
be a contract between Adelphe and Eco-Emballages under
which the former’s obligations relating to materials other
than glass were transferred to the latter. Adelphe’s
approval was extended on 15 October 1996 so that it
could (cid:145)enter into contracts with producers whose activity
relates primarily to the wine and spirits sector for the
recovering the household packaging in
purpose of
respect of which the contract has been entered into(cid:146). It
is therefore permitted to receive packaging from such
firms, irrespective of the material involved, and there is
contract between itself
no longer
and
the end of 1997 almost 12 000
Eco-Emballages. At
producers,
France, were
contributing to its
system. The share of domestic
packaging in the wine and spirits sector handled by
Adelphe in 1997 was, according to its own statements,
some 88 %. On 28 February 2000 its approval was
renewed for a further six-year period from 1 January
1999 and, since then,
it has been able to enter into
contracts with firms from all sectors in the same way
Its contracts with local authorities
as Eco-Emballages.
are currently concentrated on largely rural dØpartements.

including

transfer

outside

four

a

23. The association Cyclamed is an approved operator in
respect of packaging for medicinal products. The
Company Leclerc has been approved for its disposable
company Verrerie Cristalleries
shopping bags. The
its own household
d’Arques was approved for all
packaging, but
expired without being
renewed.

its approval

IV. THE NOTIFIED AGREEMENTS

the

the standard operational
to sectoral

contract governing use of
the standard producer contract,

24. The notification covers the articles of association of
the
Eco-Emballages,
(cid:145)green dot(cid:146) mark,
the
standard local authority contract, the standard sectoral
take-back contract
contract,
standard
and
(annexed
research and development contract. Although some of
the standard contracts originally notified have been
proceedings,
course
amended
in
Eco-Emballages
significant
stated
amendments have been made to the notified specimen
contracts(cid:146).

contracts)

of
that

the
has

the

the

(cid:145)no

1. Articles of association

25. According to its articles of association, the purpose of
Eco-Emballages is inter alia to organise systems for waste
disposal and the recovery of materials and, more
particularly, to take charge of the packaging of
firms
subject
the above-
to the obligations arising out of
mentioned Law No 75-633 and the decrees implementing
it.

26. The transfer of shares to a non-shareholder must be
approved by the company, which is not required to
justify its decisions.

27. The articles of association provide for the establishment
three to twelve
of a board of directors made up of
members
(directors), who must be shareholders. A
recent decision will increase the number of directors to
a maximum of 24.

28. If, after certain deductions,

there remains a positive

balance, profits may be distributed to shareholders.

2. Contract governing use of the (cid:145)green dot(cid:146) mark

29. On 3 December 1992 Eco-Emballages concluded a
contract with the German company Der Gr(cid:252)ne Punkt
Duales System Deutschland Gesellschaft
f(cid:252)r Abfallver-
meidung und Sekund(cid:228)rrohstoffgewinnung mbH (here-
inafter referred to as (cid:145)DSD(cid:146)) enabling it to use in France
the (cid:145)green dot(cid:146) mark belonging to DSD. The mark is used
in the Eco-Emballages system to identify the products of
producers which belong to the system, as required by the
law. This contract was mentioned in the original notifi-
cation.

30.

Since 1995 use of
the (cid:145)green dot(cid:146) mark has been
monitored by the Packaging Recovery Organisation
Europe or ProEurope SPRL (hereinafter referred to as
(cid:145)ProEurope(cid:146)). Since 10 December 1996 it has been the
contract concluded by Eco-Emballages with ProEurope
that grants the former its exclusive principal licence to
use the (cid:145)green dot(cid:146) mark and to grant sublicenses to
members
is, moreover,
required to inform its members that use of the (cid:145)green
to authorisation
dot(cid:146) mark outside France is subject
from the competent party, i.e. the firm which holds the
principal licence in the country of importation.

Eco-Emballages

in France.

31. Since 4 December 1998 Eco-Emballages has also been
required to grant sublicenses to regional systems and/or
systems dealing with specific materials
in France,
provided that the latter comply with European Parliament
and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994
on packaging and packaging waste (4) and with certain
predetermined conditions. It has in fact granted Adelphe
a non-exclusive sublicense for the use of its (cid:145)green dot(cid:146)
system on French territory up to 31 December 2002.
This agreement provides for the conclusion of tripartite
contracts with local authorities under which Adelphe will
be responsible for collecting and recovering glass and
Eco-Emballages
collecting and recovering other
materials. Adelphe is required to pay to Eco-Emballages
an amount corresponding to its share of
the costs
claimed by ProEurope.

for

(4) OJ L 365, 31.12.1994, p. 10.

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3. Producer contracts

32. Eco-Emballages offers producers

standard
membership contract or a simplified contract designed
for small
individual contributors or for syndicates or
federations of contributors with an annual pre-tax
turnover on packaged products intended for households
on French territory of less than FRF 2 million.

either

a

33. The producer acquires the right (cid:151) actually the obligation
because the products covered by the system must be
identified (cid:151) to affix the (cid:145)green dot(cid:146) mark to its
the standard
packaging. According to Article 3(1) of
contract, this right extends to all the products manu-
factured,
imported, marketed and/or placed on the
market by the co-contractor.

34. It

is up to the producer

to complete a posteriori a
declaration on the basis of which its contribution is
calculated. This has
to include packaging with the
(cid:145)green dot(cid:146) marketed by it in France.

35. The producer’s

of

the

the

latest

amount

approval,

financial contribution is determined
according to a price scale. Under the rules applicable
before
this
contribution was calculated according to the volume or
quantity of material. Since January 1999 the price scale
has been composed of a flat-rate amount and a
and,
contribution determined according
The weight-based
each material.
specified
contribution takes
financial needs
account of
specific to each material and incorporates a portion for
non-attributable costs.

to weight

the

for

the

36. The contract stipulates that the price scale will change
over the contract period (Article 5(1) and (6), and point
A of the supplementary agreement). Eco-Emballages may
decide to adjust the amount of the contribution, although
not more than once a year and subject to the agreement
of the price committee (made up of shareholders) and the
price management committee (comprising representatives
sectors concerned and
of producers,
industrial
Eco-Emballages and set up in the context of
the
approval granted to Eco-Emballages). These proposals
are then submitted to the board of Eco-Emballages.
Under the terms of the 1996 and 1999 approvals, the
adjustment
is carried out according to the extent by
which Eco-Emballages’s activities with local authorities
increase and according to an assessment of the financial
needs for each material, as defined by Article 6 of the
Decree and based on economic, technical and ecological
assessments, as well as with a view to reducing the
quantities (weight and volume) of packaging waste at
source. The price scale must not (cid:145)introduce unjustified
discrimination between packaging materials(cid:146). The funds
raised by applying the price scale are intended to
ensure that the system remains in balance economically
and financially and does not give rise to operating
surpluses at the end of the financial year. All of the
including the
financial support paid for each material,

portion for non-attributable costs, should be covered by
the contributions received for the material in question.
The funds raised must also ensure a progressive and
significant increase in the extent of collections, without
any threshold being imposed and with medium-term
transparency for producers.

37. The price scale, adjusted in line with these principles,
must still be submitted to the authorities for approval.

38. The

it

specifications proposed by Eco-Emballages and
annexed to the 1999 renewed approval also contain the
(cid:145)The price scale for producers is
following (cid:145)principles(cid:146):
common to all approved companies:
is calculated
according to those companies’ overall share. Financial
approved
organised
transfers may
companies to take account of the specific characteristics
of their share in terms of contributing materials. The
activity forecasts of approved companies
take these
transfers into account, with the objective of
financial
achieving a zero balance for the transfers to be carried
out in each financial year.(cid:146)

between

be

39. According to the standard contract originally notified,
membership contracts ran for
three years and were
renewable by tacit agreement for further periods of one
termination was submitted six
year unless notice of
the one-year
months before the expiry of one of
periods of
the
contracts in force at the end of 1998, accounting for
some 94 % of contributions, were of this type. Under
the renewed approval, the contract term was increased
to six years, renewable by tacit agreement for three years.
Early termination is possible under Article 13 of
the
standard contract in the event of default by one of the
parties.

tacit renewal. Approximately 75 % of

40. The producer contract also stipulates that Eco-Emballages
must guarantee total confidentiality with regard to all
information communicated to
financial or commercial
it by producers or to which it might become privy
during the contract period.

4. Local authority contracts

41. Local authorities are responsible in France for

the
disposal of household refuse, including packaging waste.
Eco-Emballages offers them support in recovering and
recycling
contributions paid by
producers are thus redistributed to local authorities on
the basis of several types of contract:

such waste. The

(cid:151) (cid:145)single-material(cid:146) contracts, which are designed to
continue and develop selective collection, or (cid:145)three-
material(cid:146) contracts,

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(cid:151) (cid:145)programme de durØe(cid:146) contracts for establishing multi-
five

i.e. selective collection of

material collection,
materials,

(cid:151) (cid:145)relay(cid:146) contracts offered for a transitional period of
one year with a view to a (cid:145)programme de durØe(cid:146),
contract being signed subsequently (until the end of
1998),

contracts

(cid:151) (cid:145)pilot-site contracts(cid:146) running parallel to (cid:145)programme de
durØe(cid:146)
and concluded with authorities
selected by an independent jury on the basis of prede-
geographical
termined
economic
criteria.
selective
collection
household
packaging. The 37 (cid:145)pilot site(cid:146) contracts, which were
concluded following a call for applications in 1993,
expired not later than 31 December 1996.

technical,
These
and

contracts
sorting

cover
projects

pilot
for

and

support), while others are continuing with the old
version of the contract until the end of 2002 at the latest.

46. Under a (cid:145)programme de durØe(cid:146) contract, Eco-Emballages
offers local authorities the guarantee that household
packaging waste collected and appropriately sorted (i.e.
in accordance with minimum technical requirements,
hereinafter referred to as (cid:145)the MTR(cid:146)) by them will be
taken back from them for the purposes of recovery.
Local authorities
the
to opt
remain free not
guarantee with regard to some or all materials.

for

47. When an authority does opt

to accept

the take-back
guarantee, the contract stipulates that, for the contract
period,
it must supply the entire tonnage of materials
collected and sorted in accordance with the MTR to the
to
designated
Eco-Emballages, this requirement was adopted to allow
its support to be calculated and to permit verification
that all packaging had indeed been recycled.

According

take-back

firm(s).

42. Under

the terms of

is
its approval, Eco-Emballages
into a contract with any local
required to enter
authority which so requests,
the
quantities of packaging equivalent to those for which
producers have themselves entered into a contract with
it. The contract must comply with the requirements of
the General Local Authorities Code (legislative part) and
the Municipalities Code (regulatory part).

to the extent of

48. Nevertheless,

in cases where the authority identifies a
new and innovative means of
recovery during the
contract period, an exception may be made to the
principle of take-back by the designated take-back firm.
Application of such an exception has to be approved by
the sectoral undertaking which would normally carry out
recovery.

43. Under

the terms of

the 1996 approval, no (cid:145)single-
material(cid:146) contracts could be signed after 31 December
1996. Upon expiry,
(cid:145)single-material(cid:146) contracts had to be
incorporated into (cid:145)programme de durØe (cid:146) contracts or, as a
a
transitional measure pending the
(cid:145)programme de durØe(cid:146) contract, be converted into three-
material contracts of
failing this,
financial support relating to (cid:145)single-material(cid:146) contracts
had to be withdrawn by 31 December 1998. The 1999
approval also provides for the conclusion of (cid:145)programme
de duree(cid:146) contracts
selective
collection of packaging waste.

to support multimaterial

two years’ duration;

conclusion of

is

local

approval

authorities

renewed, offer

44. The (cid:145)programme de durØe(cid:146) contract, in its version of 8 July
1994, is concluded for a six-year period. Under Article 12
of the contract, Eco-Emballages must, on each occasion
a
its
supplementary agreement renewing the contract
for a
period to be determined between the parties but which
may not exceed the duration of
the new approval.
According to Eco-Emballages, the six-year period meets
in view of the
local authorities, which,
the wishes of
substantial
investment involved, seek a degree of dura-
bility in their relationship with Eco-Emballages. Termi-
nation is possible under Article 14 of the contract in
the event of default by one of the parties.

45. After the renewal of Eco-Emballages’s approval in 1996,
some authorities opted for an amended contract (with
level of
amendments

relating in particular

to the

49. When the local authority does not opt for the take-back
guarantee in respect of one, some or all materials, the
contract stipulates that it must ensure that the take-back
firms selected by it do in fact recycle all of the packaging
sorted in accordance with the MTR and that those firms
inform both
Eco-Emballages
authority
accordingly every three months. The name of each of
the take-back firms selected must be specified in the
(cid:145)programme de durØe(cid:146) contract.

and

the

latest

50. Under the terms of the (cid:145)programme de durØe(cid:146) contract and
approval, Eco-Emballages must pay the
the
irrespective of
authority,
following support
whether or not the latter has opted for the take-back
guarantee:

to the

(cid:151) an amount per tonne sorted in accordance with the
MTR, with the amount varying according to the
material concerned,

(cid:151) a financial contribution towards energy recovery,

(cid:151) support for local communication,

(cid:151) temporary support corresponding to the specific
situation: start-up, high-rise housing and dispersed
rural
in the
(cid:145)sorting ambassadors(cid:146)
context of youth employment schemes, etc.,

communities,

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(cid:151) aid for the provision of bottle banks for use by the

public.

(cid:151) steel: initially Sollac SA, whose rights and obligations
were transferred to Usinor-Packaging SA in 2000,

51.

In the case of single-material and three-material contracts,
only some of these forms of support have been granted.

52. Similar support was available prior to the latest approval.

(cid:151) aluminium: France Aluminium Recyclage SA,

(cid:151) paper/paperboard: Revipac,

(cid:151) plastic: Valorplast SA,

53. The method of calculating support is described in the
It takes account inter alia of the population

contracts.
actually covered by selective collection.

to certain restrictions, positive

54. The minimum take-back price paid by the take-back firm
designated for a given local authority is laid down in the
(cid:145)programme de durØe(cid:146) contract. Under the terms of both the
initial approval and the subsequent renewals, this price is,
subject
steel,
aluminium and glass and zero for paper/paperboard
is
and plastic. The price management
charged with drawing up proposals for adjustments to
the price scale while the Eco-Emballages board of
directors decides on such adjustments (see point 36
above). The public authorities must then approve any
amendments made to the price scale.

committee

for

its choice,

them (cid:145)on terms at

55. If the local authority has not opted for the take-back
guarantee and enters into a contract with a take-back
firm of
it must, as Eco-Emballages’ 1996
approval application stated, sell the products on market
the local authority
terms. Under the initial approval,
least as
could be required to sell
favourable as
the take-back
those applicable under
guarantee(cid:146). However, only the take-back agreement for
aluminium ultimately included this
requirement, and
this means that, in order to guarantee that the material
is indeed recycled, the local authority cannot accept from
its take-back firm a price lower than that offered by the
designated take-back firm under the take-back guarantee
(in the case of contracts applying the old price scale) or
lower than the market price (in the case of contracts
applying the new price scale).

5. Sectoral
contracts

contracts

and operational

take-back

the

56. Contracts with sectoral undertakings

regulate
and

(or
relationship

take-back
between
agreements)
Eco-Emballages
firms which
undertake to take back and recycle the packaging
collected, provided that it complies with the MTR. As
indicated above,
there are five sectoral undertakings,
namely:

industrial

the

(cid:151) glass: Chambre syndicale des verreries mØcaniques de

France (CSVMF).

57. Whether or not there is an express obligation in this
it could
takes
regard, Eco-Emballages
enter into contracts with several firms or bodies for the
same material.

the view that

58. Following their renewal, the agreements will expire on
either 30 June 2004 (steel) or 31 December 2004
(aluminium, paper/paperboard, plastic and glass). A
decision on whether to extend them further will,
in
each case, be taken not later than three months before
the corresponding expiry date.

59. A management agreement

is also annexed to the
take-back agreements; this defines the terms of reference,
organisation and functioning of the two committees set
up between Eco-Emballages and the sectoral undertaking
concerned and provides
the establishment of a
for
materials account, which is the share of Eco-Emballages’s
net resources allocated to each material. In addition, the
latest supplementary agreements provide for a correction
method involving the application of a weighting to take
account, in particular in the allocation of non-attributable
costs, of varying performances and different recovery
rates for the various materials.

60. Some of

the specific characteristics of

the various

take-back contracts are described below.

Take-back agreement for steel

61. This agreement was signed with Sollac on 18 November
1993. Sollac’s rights and obligations have now been
transferred to Usinor-Packaging, and the agreement was
last amended and supplemented on 8 March 2000.

local

having

authority

62. The take-back guarantee provided for in this agreement
means that the sectoral undertaking undertakes vis-a-vis
any
contract with
Eco-Emballages to take back and recycle the quantities
of packaging sorted in accordance with the MTR.
It
must ask local authorities to grant it and the designated
take-back firm an exclusive right to take back all the
quantities sorted on their territory during the contract
period.

a

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9.8.2000

63. The method of determining the minimum take-back price

Take-back agreement for plastic

is described at point 54.

64. The sectoral undertaking has to send Eco-Emballages a
quarterly statement of the quantities of sorted packaging
it has taken back and the quantities rejected.

Take-back contract for aluminium

65. This agreement was

signed with France Aluminium
Recyclage on 8 November 1993 and was last amended
and supplemented on 23 December 1999.

local

having

authority

66. The take-back guarantee provided for in this agreement
means that the sectoral undertaking undertakes vis-a-vis
any
contract with
Eco-Emballages to take back and recycle the quantities
of packaging sorted in accordance with the MTR.
It
must ask local authorities to grant it or the designated
take-back firm an exclusive right to take back all the
quantities sorted on their territory during the contract
period.

a

67. The method of determining the minimum take-back price

is described at point 54.

68. The sectoral undertaking has to send Eco-Emballages a
quarterly statement of the quantities of sorted packaging
it has taken back and the quantities rejected.

Take-back agreement for paper/paperboard

69. This agreement was signed with Revipac on 8 December
1993 and was last amended and supplemented on 4
April 2000.

70. The take-back guarantee provided for in this agreement
means that the sectoral undertaking dertakes vis-a-vis any
local authority having a contract with Eco-Emballages to
take back and recycle the quantities of packaging sorted
in accordance with the MTR. It must ask local authorities
to grant
the
quantities of
sorted on their
relevant packaging
territory during the contract period.

it an exclusive right

to take back all

71. The method of determining the minimum take-back price

is described at point 54.

72. The agreement also stipulates that Eco-Emballages must
pay a sum of FRF 100 per tonne taken back by the
sectoral undertaking by way of
(cid:145)geographical compen-
sation(cid:146), irrespective of the local authority’s geographical
location.

73. The sectoral undertaking has to send Eco-Emballages a
quarterly statement of the quantities of sorted packaging
it has taken back and the quantities rejected.

signed with Valorplast on 10
74. This agreement was
December 1993.
It was replaced by the agreement of
12 February 1997, which was amended and supple-
mented on 3 January and 27 March 2000.

local

authority

75. The take-back guarantee provided for in this agreement
means that the sectoral undertaking undertakes vis-a-vis
any
contract with
Eco-Emballages to take back and recycle the quantities
of packaging sorted in accordance with the MTR.
It
must ask local authorities to grant it an exclusive right
to take back all
the quantities of relevant packaging
sorted on their territory during the contract period.

having

a

76. A specimen contract between Eco-Emballages and a local
authority is annexed to the take-back agreement. It states
inter alia that take-back is free of charge from the sorting
centre and that a flat-rate amount is payable to the local
authority by the designated take-back firm in the event
that the material is transported.

77. The agreement contains provisions on the marketing of
sorted packaging. It lays down that the sectoral under-
taking must seek, preferably in France (to limit transport
costs) or, failing that, within the European Union, buyers
of untreated pellets or treated product (having undergone
further sorting). Any sale outside the European Union
requires the prior agreement of Eco-Emballages. As for
the selling price, the sectoral undertaking must attempt to
achieve the best selling price/cost price ratio and, to that
end, to issue calls for tenders.

78. The sectoral undertaking must send Eco-Emballages a
monthly report on not only the quantities of sorted
packaging taken back and rejected but also the selling
prices and names of buyers, the quantities which have
been further sorted and the associated cost, transport
costs and the level of
the various stocks, their value
and the cost of storage.

Take-back agreement for glass

79. This agreement was signed with the Chambre syndicale
des
(CSVMF) on
1 December 1993. It was replaced by the agreement of
26 November 1999.

verreries mØcaniques

France

de

local

80. The take-back guarantee provided for in this agreement
means that the sectoral undertaking undertakes vis-a-vis
any
contract with
Eco-Emballages that the quantities of packaging sorted
in accordance with the MTR will be taken back and
recycled by the French glassworks participating. It must
ask local authorities to grant the designated take-back

authority

having

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firm an exclusive right to take back all the quantities of
relevant packaging sorted on their territory during the
contract period.

87. With regard to steel, paper/paperboard, plastic and glass,
the operational contract has been concluded for the same
period as the take-back contract.

81. The method of determining the minimum take-back price

is described at point 54.

88. With regard to aluminium, the operational contract runs

for three years.

6. Research and development contracts

82. The principle established in the agreement is that glass
returned to the factory and ready to be used may not
than the new raw material. The
cost more overall
glassmakers undertake to pay a minimum of FRF 150
per tonne of glass to the local authority in cases where
it takes charge of transport to the processing centre.

89. Eco-Emballages’s

involvement

in research and devel-
opment is essentially financial. In return, its co-contractor
undertakes to implement a given process industrially or
to allow Eco-Emballages
to do so. These contracts
regulate matters of industrial property.

83. The list of designated take-back firms can be amended at

DETERMINATION OF PRICE SCALES

V. ROLE OF THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES INTER ALIA IN THE

any time by the sectoral undertaking.

84. The method of payment by Eco-Emballages to local auth-
orities of support per sorted tonne and support
for
remote areas depends on who collects and transports
the packaging. If it is the local authority, the support is
paid to it directly. However, if it is the glassmaker or its
collection and
representative
transport, the support is paid to the service provider
designated by the glassmaker. Finally,
if collection is
carried out by the local authority and transport by the
glassmaker or its representative, support per sorted tonne
is paid direct to the local authority while support for
remote areas is paid to the company which carries out
the transport.

charge of

takes

that

90. The Commission has

the most

learned that

recent
proposal for the price scales of each body is based on
a single independent study of
the costs of selective
collection of household waste and system management.
To the costs thus estimated for each material, but without
any differentiation by local authority, are added the
body’s structural costs. As stated above, any proposal
relating to price scales must be submitted to the
advisory committee, made up of all interested partners,
for its opinion before the body
including consumers,
the
presents
its
competent ministers. The public
check
compliance with a number of predetermined general
criteria and may still impose conditions over and above
those for the approval application or decide not to take
up the proposals put forward in the application.

specifications

authorities

approval

for

by

85. The sectoral undertaking has to send Eco-Emballages a
quarterly statement of the quantities of sorted packaging
it has taken back and the quantities collected and of the
take-back terms.

Operational take-back contracts

take

undertakings which

86. In the context of a take-back guarantee,
actually

it is not the
sectoral
back
packaging waste but rather firms designated by each of
them. These are known as (cid:145)designated take-back firms(cid:146)
(repreneurs dØsignØs). Eco-Emballages claims not to have
any influence on the choice of designated take-back
firms. However,
the contracts concluded between the
designated take-back firms and the local authorities (oper-
ational
take-back contracts) are based on standard
contracts (cid:145)so as not to undermine the guarantee given
by the sectoral undertakings(cid:146). A specimen model
for
each contract, except the one for plastic, was therefore
proposed by Eco-Emballages.

for

hence

higher

support

91. The result is that in France price scales, both upstream
(i.e. contributions by producers belonging to the selective
collection and recovery systems) and downstream (i.e.
financial
local authorities), are currently
determined in identical fashion by the public authorities
for approved bodies performing the same role. The
French authorities argue that different price scales down-
stream would prompt local authorities to move towards
the highest prices, and this might result in higher prices
prices.
downstream and
Conversely,
the existence of different scales upstream
would prompt producers to deal with bodies offering
the lowest prices. The French authorities thus claim
that the existence of different scales would be harmful
to a system’s economic and financial balance, proper
implementation and durability. They argue that
the
existence of two or more approved bodies performing
the same activities thus leads to uniform price scales,
the possibility of
although this does not
differences regarding, for example, the quality of service
and back-up provided to local authorities or the possi-
bility of outbidding as bodies propose more efficient
services or
innovative solutions when approvals are
being renegotiated.

consumer

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VI. UNDERTAKINGS GIVEN BY ECO-EMBALLAGES

97.

92. Eco-Emballages has given the following undertakings:

93. It has stated that,

the latter

in future membership contracts, the
right to use the (cid:145)green dot(cid:146) mark will be extended to all
products manufactured,
imported, marketed and/or
placed on the market in cases where the packaging is
declared by the co-contractor;
this will make it clear
is able to join the system for only
that
certain types of material and for all or some of
the
packaging of a given material. With regard to ongoing
contracts, it will inform its members of this by letter. It
will announce to its current and future members that, if a
member has included in its declaration products which
should not have been declared, e.g. products which are
refund the
ultimately exported, Eco-Emballages will
corresponding
of
supporting documents.

contribution

presentation

on

If a local authority planning to terminate a contract so
requests, Eco-Emballages will provide
it with any
necessary information concerning its proposal so that
the local authority is able to compare the offers of the
various bodies for each material. It also undertakes to
continue to be bound by its contract with a local
authority which partially (i.e. for one or more materials)
terminates its contract in respect of the other materials
on the same terms as hitherto applicable.

98. Eco Emballages undertakes to grant a sublicense to use
the (cid:145)green dot(cid:146) mark in its system to any (body that has
been approved in France by the public authorities in
accordance with the Decree, provided that it undertakes
to comply with the requirements for packaging waste
collection
in Directive
94/62/EC and with the requirements imposed on the
holder of the principal licence by ProEurope.

recovery

down

and

laid

94. Eco-Emballages will allow all producers to terminate their
contract each year without paying any compensation.
Moreover, any newly concluded contract will contain a
clause allowing such annual termination.

95. Eco-Emballages will specify in future programme de durØe
contracts that
the objectives of setting up a selective
collection and sorting system for three and then five
materials extend to materials covered by the contract of
another approved body. It will
inform accordingly the
local authorities with which it has already concluded a
contract. It may also specify that its financial contribution
and the take-back guarantee it proposes relate to the
materials covered by the contract.

99. Eco-Emballages will take all necessary measures to ensure
that the contract amendments and the other undertakings
referred to above enter into force and become effective
from the date on which this notice is published in the
Official Journal of the European Communities.

VII. FURTHER PROCEEDINGS BY THE COMMISSION

100. The Commission intends not to raise any objection to the
notified agreements under Article 81 of the EC Treaty
and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement. Before taking its
decision, it calls on interested third parties to submit their
observations within one month of the publication of this
notice, quoting reference (cid:145)34.950 (cid:151) Eco-Emballages(cid:146), to:

96. Eco-Emballages will

inform the local authorities with
they
which it has already concluded a contract
may at any time terminate their (cid:145)programme de durØe(cid:146)
contract unilaterally without payment of any compen-
sation and will
insert this clause into future contracts.
Consequently, the six-year contract period is, in reality,
binding only on Eco-Emballages.

that

European Commission,
Directorate General for Competition,
Directorate D (cid:151) Services,
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200,
B-1049 Brussel.
Fax (32-2) 295 30 80.